Tim Cook Coffee Meeting Charity Auction Hits $100,000

Charity auction site CharityBuzz kicked off a charity auction for a cup of coffee with Tim Cook this morning and the listing, which has an estimated value of $50,000, went from $5,250 to $100,000 in a matter of hours.

bids
Here are our best guesses of the identities of the top contenders vying to win a coffee date with Cook:

owclarry - Larry O’Connor, the founder and CEO of Other World Computing, a company that provides computer upgrade products and services for Macs. "We would love the opportunity to sit down with Tim and maybe get some insights on where the future lies in his eyes," he told MacRumors.

rory.oneill3 (now charitybidder10) - Rory O’Neill, Vice President of Product & Channel Marketing at BlackBerry.

PasswordBox.com - PasswordBox is a secure password management app which is currently restricted to VIP members only and is available on a wait list basis. Its CEO and co-founder is Daniel Robichaud.

USocketUSBOutlet - U-Socket is an AC receptacle with two built-in USB ports, produced by FastMac, so this bidder is likely someone from the company.

stephen.gill.777 - Stephen Gill, an online marketing executive and co-founder of Leadnomics.

BGStucki - Brian Stucki, Owner of Macminicolo, a Mac Mini colocation service that stores users Mac minis in data centers for use as servers.

At the moment, Other World Computing founder Larry O'Connor, who has been actively bidding throughout the day has the winning bid. Prolific bidder O'Neill previously had the username rory.oneill3, which has now been changed to charitybidder10.

While we have confirmed that Stucki and O'Connor are the bidders behind their usernames, the remaining guesses are based on usernames that match up with known people in tech.

The auction, which ends on May 14, will allow two attendees to spend 30–60 minutes with Cook at Apple Headquarters in Cupertino. Proceeds will benefit the RFK Center for Justice & Human Rights.

Update: We have received an email alleging that the Rory O'Neill bidding in the auction is not affiliated with BlackBerry.

Update 2: The Charitybuzz website appears to utilize Facebook logins (thanks, Johan!) which means some usernames correlate to Facebook usernames. That suggests Rory O’Neill is not the same Rory O’Neill who works at BlackBerry. Bids have now reached $155k, with Sebastijian Bauman in the lead.

Top Rated Comments

MultiMediaWill Avatar
144 months ago
Imagine the cost if this was an auction to meet with Steve Jobs instead of Cook.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
daneoni Avatar
144 months ago
Doubt Steve would have ever done this considering how little he donated to charity.

How do you know he donated little to charity. Just because he wasn't public about it doesn't mean it didn't happen.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
johnnnw Avatar
144 months ago
Doubt Steve would have ever done this considering how little he donated to charity.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bdkennedy1 Avatar
144 months ago
Steve changed the world with his vision of computing giving even 3rd world countries the opportunities to own a smart phone. I think that's charity enough.

Doubt Steve would have ever done this considering how little he donated to charity.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Shrink Avatar
144 months ago
Doubt Steve would have ever done this considering how little he donated to charity.

I'm the last one to defend Jobs in any way...but do we have a public record of his private charitable donations, if any?

His public policies at Apple were not supportive of charitable giving, but I don't know about any private philanthropy.

Do you have that information??
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Consultant Avatar
144 months ago
Great job denigrating a dead man. Just because Steve Jobs doesn't boast about it, doesn't mean he doesn't contribute.

Bono said under Steve Jobs, Apple was the large contributor to Fight AIDS under project RED. Jobs is also seen as a prime candidate of someone who made an anonymous donation of $150 million to cancer center at the University of California, San Francisco

https://www.macrumors.com/2011/09/02/bono-defends-steve-jobs-against-criticism-over-lack-of-public-philanthropy/

Under Steve Jobs, Apple also contributed to Stanford hospital:
//www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=se5k1JnTFXk

Doubt Steve would have ever done this considering how little he donated to charity.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

5

Apple Event Live Blog: New iPad Pro, iPad Air, and More

Tuesday May 7, 2024 6:33 am PDT by
Apple's "Let Loose" event kicks off today at the unusual time of 7:00 a.m. Pacific Time, and we're expecting to see an iPad-focused event with new iPad Pro and iPad Air models, updated Apple Pencil and Magic Keyboard accessories, and perhaps some other announcements. Apple is providing a live video stream on its website, on YouTube, and in the company's TV app across various platforms. We...
f 7ba5b5b668dd68b7179a599305cff6b117ef35d1

Apple Announces New iPad Pro With M4 Chip, OLED Display, and More

Tuesday May 7, 2024 7:15 am PDT by
Apple today unveiled redesigned iPad Pro models featuring the M4 chip, Ultra Retina XDR OLED displays, a nano-texture display option, and more. The new iPad Pro offers a considerably thinner design and slightly larger 11- and 13-inch display size options. The 11-inch model is 5.3mm thick and weighs less than a pound, while the 13-inch model is just 5.1mm thick and weighs a quarter pound less ...
iOS 17 All New Features Thumb

Apple Says iOS 17.5 Coming 'Soon' With These New Features for iPhones

Monday May 6, 2024 7:33 am PDT by
Apple today announced that iOS 17.5 will be released to the public "soon," following over a month of beta testing. While the software update is relatively minor, it does have a few new features and changes, as outlined in the list below. "The new Pride Radiance watch face and iPhone and iPad wallpapers will be available soon with watchOS 10.5, iOS 17.5, and iPadOS 17.5," said Apple, in its...
f 157980180c661f30ff9611287c90241baf30faff

Apple Announces Redesigned Magic Keyboard for New iPad Pro Starting at $299

Tuesday May 7, 2024 7:39 am PDT by
Apple at its "Let Loose" event today announced a new Magic Keyboard for the latest iPad Pro models, with a thinner, lighter design. Apple says the Magic Keyboard has been redesigned to be thinner and lighter, while maintaing the same floating design. Two colors are available that match the new iPad Pro. New features include a function row with screen brightness controls, an aluminum...
maxresdefault

Everything Announced at Today's Apple Event

Tuesday May 7, 2024 1:06 pm PDT by
Apple today held the first event of 2024, debuting new iPad Air and iPad Pro models and accompanying accessories. While the event was faster than normal and took 40 minutes, we've condensed it down even further for those who want a quick overview of everything that was announced. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. We've also got a full recap of all of the coverage...
iPhone 15 Colors yellow

'iPhone 17 Slim' With Smaller Display Rumored to Launch Next Year

Monday May 6, 2024 9:14 am PDT by
While the iPhone 16 series is still months away from launching, an early rumor about an all-new iPhone 17 model has now surfaced. In a research note with investment firm Haitong this week, analyst Jeff Pu said Apple is planning a so-called "iPhone 17 Slim" model that would replace the Plus model in the lineup. Pu said this model will feature around a 6.6-inch display, a slimmer design, an...
5

Apple Event This Week Expected to Last 'About 35 Minutes'

Sunday May 5, 2024 3:13 pm PDT by
Apple will be holding its first event of the year this Tuesday, May 7 at 7 a.m. Pacific Time, with a live stream to be available on Apple.com and on YouTube. How long will the event be? In his newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the video will have a runtime of "around 35 minutes." Apple is expected to announce new iPad Pro and iPad Air models, along with updated Apple Pencil...